Island



(No Model.)

M. A HEATH. BALE COVERING No. 448,487. Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

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. ITED STATES MARK A. HEATH, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

BALE-COVERING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,487, dated March 17, 1891.

Application filed August 4, 1890- Serial No. 360,999. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARK A. HEATH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of RhodeIsland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bale-Coverin gs, of which the following, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a bale-covering for cotton or other like merchandise which will be fireproof, strong, and cheap, and which furthermore will retain the material in a compact and uniform condition; and it consists in a sheet-metal covering made in two parts, which are heldtogether by compound hooks, as shown in the'drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a bale of cotton packed in my improved sheet-metal covering. Fig. 2 represents a plan View of a section of the covering as it appears before being bent into the form of an open box, and also as it is when straightened out for storing. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the parts AA as connected to each other by means of compound hooks. Fig. 4 represents an enlarged side view of the short member of the compound hook. Fig. 5 represents an enlarged central longitudinal section of the compound hook.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Arepresents a sheet of thin metal having a series of holes or openings 0, to reduce its weight. Near the edges of the sheet and at a uniform distance from each other are placed slots b, and the corners are cut, as at 0, so that the ends of the sheet may be bent at dotted lines d, to form a right angle with the central portion, which will then form either the top or bottom of the bale-covering. The projecting corners are bent, as shown in Fig. 1, and the cover is ready for use.

In the press the cotton is placed between two corresponding sections A Aof the covering, and when the desired compactness has been obtained hooks 13, formed somewhat after the style of an ordinary belt-hook with its ends converging, are inserted into the above-mentioned slots 19, and the package is ready for storing or shipping.

strips of metal which are left between the holes a, as I obtain in that case a series of bands of unbroken metal, which greatly increases the efficiency and strength of the covering. It will also be seen that the corners are stronger on account of the ends of the sides being lapped over, and, furthermore, all the bales will be of uniform size, whereby calculations as to the room required for shipping in vessels will be greatly facilitated. At the point of destination the hooks may be withdrawn and the cover straightened out into its former condition for storing, so that the same covering may be used over and over again.

The series of compound hooks B shown in Fig. 3 are to be first employed to secure the parts A A to each other, the hook portion d being made to engage with the opening f in the hook portion 01 and in this case the covering will be adapted both for use at the plantation and at the final press, the portion cl of the compound hook B, which is provided with the hook ends 6 6, being adapted to secure the parts A A to each other after the complete compression of the cotton, as in Fig. 1, while with the addition of the hook portion d the compound hook will be adapted to secure the said parts to each other before the cotton has been fully compressed, so that when the bale has been brought to the final press and the cotton subjected to additional pressure the hook portion d can be removed and the portion (1 be employed for the final fastening.

WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a bale-covering, the combination, with the sections having slots at their edges, of compound hooks for holding the sections together, said hooks consisting of two interlocking parts, each part being provided with a hook for engaging the slots in the sections,

substantially as and for the purpose described.

MARK A. HEATH.

WVitnesses: SocRATEs SCHOLFIELD, JOHN S. LYNCH. 

